[It isn't that Izumi is adverse to affection or anything - not really. He isn't really the type for skinship, but holding a friend's hand isn't bad at all, and might be just a little bit welcome given how lonely things have been lately.
That, and having someone who would want to hold his hand at all is just a little bit of a blessing.]
If we complete these tasks we were given, aren't things supposed to go back to normal? Or as normal as they can be, with Retrospec being the way it is. It's nice that doing something fun is enough to help out.
[Stargazing is way better than like. Fighting monsters or something.]
Would you want to go to the beach? It might be fun to set off fireworks.
[ Setting off fireworks... Tsukasa swings their hands idly, looking up. Mmm, he's never done it before, but would it be too pathetic to admit that...? No, would it feel more pathetic if Izumi replied with something like, "I'm not surprised"...
Given his family. Ah, welll, he's just let on that they're really strict, right? Mm... ]
I'd love to~. I'd say we could do it tonight, but even staying with Leonii, I have a curfew... He got a little mad that I snuck out to go on a walk, but-- [ then miai teased me about being on a date and leo told me to ask you ] uh, it's okay. I told him I wouldn't stay too late, even with you.
[Honestly, Izumi likewise can't say that he has much experience with typical summer fun, though his reasons are different from Tsukasa's. He can't swim and wilts in the heat, so even though he usually goes to the beach with his family at least once every summer, he's never the type to jump forward and suggest doing all types of summer activities (unless laying on the floor at home in the AC counts). Sparklers are definitely very summery, though, and something they can do at some point!]
It's okay. Tonight's just for stargazing, anyway. [Isn't that right?] Besides, if Leonii gets mad at you, then I'm to blame too. We're partners in not-actually-crime. ....Did you want to sit down somewhere to watch the stars, or just walk around?
I'm not really the best either... Well, at least I kinda have the upper body strength for it.
[ It's... probably illegal to climb a shrine, but Tsukasa's leading them to one that's tall but not like, too terribly "we will die if we slip and fall"-ish. MAY STILL BE SLIGHTLY SCARY TO LOOK AT AND GO WE'RE GONNA CLIMB THIS BUT THEY WON'T DIE, ]
Daisuke also taught me some parkour in exchange for teaching him how to ride a chocobo. ♪ Don't worry, it isn't hard.
He taught you parkour? I knew he'd gotten some crazy abilities, but that's.... Imagining you doing it is even more crazy!
[No, don't worry, he's definitely intimidated. Not enough to vehemently back out or anything, but enough to look up and mentally go "is this even okay though?"]
Um, well.... If you're sure, then I'll let you lead the way! But if I'm climbing too, I won't be able to catch you if you fall.
[Ah, yes, he heard about that in passing.... Which only makes Tsukasa seem even more trustworthy, clearly. Full confidence here.
....Except looking at him, it's clear that Izumi isn't feeling very confident at all. What if they fall and like impale themselves on the fence-- okay, no.]
I'll give it my best shot, at least? I'm not sure how it'll go, but I'm going to have faith in you. For my own sake.
[Here goes nothing....?!]
woke up at 3:40ish and couldnt get back to sleep. whats your excuse
The faith-having would be much more useful if I was going second and could cushion your fall, wouldn't it.
[ but, that tease aside, he'll carefully get up and test the waters of grabbing one of decorative ornamentations above..... or try to, he is a little short of reaching it unless he jumps.
he realizes that after fifteen seconds of reaching for it though and hops, grabbing it and sort of. immediately reaching up again with the momentum to grab onto a slanted tile. if he wheezes when he pulls himself up don't comment. there's still another roof (the Proper roof) to go though,
but he can wait on the first landing for izumi. ]
Crazy 4 AM storms with 60 mph gusts waking me up, which is totally valid!
Would you be able to do that while climbing in the first place? If you let go, we'd both go crashing down!
[This is where Izumi's extra two cm on Tsukasa come in handy-- no, not really. He can't say he isn't a little impressed, wheezing aside, simply because art nerds and athletics usually don't mix (even though Tsukasa has a heads up from riding horses that Izumi definitely doesn't have).... But with that, it's time to follow the same path, and he does the same small hop before eventually managing to pull himself up on the landing with only mild difficulty. Not too bad!]
This is too much for my frail shut-in body.
[But he's smiling as he says it, even if he's still breathing a little hard from pulling himself up.]
[ Not only riding horses, but taking care of things around the stables too...♪ He's a stablehand first and foremost, he just really likes handling the animals. Izumi doesn't have any of that benefit though, so he's inclined to let him catch his breath a bit before they continue—
the stars aren't bad from here anyway, and he looks up with a soft "uwah". ]
...It's a mix of different colors~. [ damn people for painting the sky things other than its actual color, but at least it makes nighttime look incredible. ] Hey, Izumi, do you know why the sky's blue normally?
[Catching his breath is one thing, but tilting his head up at Tsukasa's soft exclamation, he's almost tempted to echo it.
It's... really stunning to look at, actually. The stars may not be any constellations he recognizes (not that he actually knows much about astronomy to begin with), but it's the colours that captivate him.]
It's almost like an aurora... like a painting. [It is painted, but that isn't the point.] Uh... isn't it because of the light or the atmosphere or something? You probably shouldn't be asking someone who draws half of the time instead of taking notes in science class.
[ Maybe if you took notes you'd have better grades— ]
That's right. Blue light travels in short waves, so it's the one that gets scattered the most when the sunlight hits the atmosphere. [ He spreads his hands a little, always eager to share his learnings ♪ He's a straight-A student for a reason, and that's... because of a lot of dedication. And doodling, but dedication. ] So... I wonder what that means for our sky. Are we painting the atmosphere, influencing what color gets scattered as a result? Are we changing physics itself...? Mm, I wonder what that means...
[ He trails off a little, letting his hands drop, too. Hmm. And continuing a little softer, almost to himself: ]
Like God, or something... Remaking things as we see fit, with the colors we see fit... [ ... ] Mmm, I'm sure it's just the paint influencing what shows up, but then again, things just kind of stay like that... I wonder if it's possible to paint over it and get a different color to show up, or if you paint over it too much, if it layers up and becomes hard to see through...? Like with real acrylic paint... Oh, I bet it'd peel nicely then, but then we'd have the problem of the sky not being there again... Actually, it's a little strange that we're able to reach it anyway, even with that dome that appeared— and mm, I wonder, what layers mean, again...
[ ..........................well!! He claps his hands and turns to Izumi, smiling slightly. ]
U~m, but anyway, we should keep climbing, right? I'm sure the aurora'll be even prettier when we get up there~. Fufu, I'm excited. ♪
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